Double-engine govt fulfilling promises made to people: Rajasthan CM

Sharma claimed that the previous Congress government only stalled the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project.

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the double-engine government of the Centre and the state are engaged in fulfilling the promises made to the people.

"We had promised regarding the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project to the state and within one and a half months of forming the government, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the integrated ERCP with the central government and Madhya Pradesh government," he said.

Sharma addressed public meetings in Alwar, Deeg and Bharatpur districts and informed the people about the benefits the ERCP can bring to their areas.

"We have set a target to complete this project in five years by working rapidly on the ground," he said.

Sharma claimed that the previous Congress government only stalled the ERCP.

"The former Congress government had repeatedly mentioned ERCP in budget announcements but did not take any concrete steps to resolve it," he said.

Sharma said that from 2013 to 2018, the then BJP government had started the Chief Minister Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan to encourage water conservation and storage.

"Taking this forward, we have started Chief Minister Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan 2.0 by making a provision of Rs 11,200 crore in the budget," he said.

Under this, the CM said, five lakh water storage structures will be built in 20 thousand villages in the next four years.

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the integrated ERCP will be the biggest canal project of the state after Independence, providing drinking water to 3.5 crore population of eastern Rajasthan for the next five decades.

Besides, he said, this will ensure availability of water for irrigation on 2 lakh 80 thousand hectares of land in the eastern part of the state.